Parkinson's disease and immune system: Is the culprit LRRKing in the periphery?

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (lrrk2) is a large multidomain kinase/gtpase that has been recently linked to three pathological conditions: parkinson's disease; crohn's disease; and leprosy. although lrrk2 physiological function is poorly understood,a potential role in inflammatory response is suggested by its high expression in immune cells and tissues,its up-regulation by interferon γ,and its function as negative regulator of the immune response transcription factor nfat1. in this review we discuss the most recent findings regarding how lrrk2 could be a player in the inflammatory response and we propose a scenario where the detrimental effects mediated by parkinson's disease lrrk2 mutations may initiate in the periphery and extend to the central nervous system as a consequence of increased levels of pro-inflammatory factors permeable to the blood brain barrier. © 2012 greggio et al.; licensee biomed central ltd.